Beck Dispels Biggest Mormon Myths in Blaze TV Special

On Thursday night, Glenn Beck tackled an issue that has come up frequently throughout the 2012 presidential campaign — Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. Prior to the show, the radio and television host invited TheBlaze readers and viewers to submit their questions, as he sought to address the myths that often surround The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Beck, who is also a Mormon, told viewers that his faith is inherent in all that he does. In fact, it is his personal relationship with God that guides his actions and sustains him.

“I do what I do, because of my faith,” Beck told viewers. “Because of my faith, I’m not afraid.”

He also went on to highlight some of the elements that people need to know about his personal faith and its central underpinnings. From a belief in Jesus Christ to the notion that helping one’s fellow man is essential, these values lay at the center of the Mormon experience.

“God lives. We survive. America flourishes,” he continued, listing off the other sentiments that Mormons embrace. “The Messiah came and he will come again. Be good to one another. Give until it hurts. Give to the poor, the hungry and the underprivileged. Obey God. Make a covenant with him. He keeps his word. But be on his side. Don’t try to get him on your side.”

The first issue — or myth, rather — that Beck tackled was polygamy, a marriage that includes more than two individuals. Since there is mass confusion surrounding Mormons and plural marriage, Beck provided in-depth background and historical analysis on the issue. While he explained that Mormons did, indeed, practice polygamy at one point in time, he notes that this dynamic ended 122 years ago and that the church takes a strong stance against it today.

GlennBeck.com has more about Beck’s statements surrounding historical constructs of the former practice:

He explained that in the 1800s, there was massive persecution of Mormons wer driven out of New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. In Missouri, the governor even issued Executive Order-44 which ordered that all Mormons be exterminated or driven out of the state, resulting in 10,000 Mormons who lived there either being killed or forced to flee. Executive Order-44 wasn’t overturned until 1976. As a result of this persecution, there weren’t many men left. The desire to repopulate played a role in the decision to practice polygamy, but only about 5% did it before the practice came to an end in 1890.

“The media would have nothing more to have Americans believe that anybody who believes what I believe is [Warren Jeffs],” Beck said, referring to a cult leader who is serving a life sentence for having relationships with underage girls.

Contemporary polygamists aren’t Mormons, Beck explained. Watch the host tackle the polygamy issue, below:

Next, he delved into the so-called “magic underwear” discussion. He was, of course, referring to the undergarments that Mormon adherents wear. Many times, this element of the faith is mocked and ridiculed, as non-believers don‘t understand the significance and haven’t necessarily been exposed to the reasoning behind wearing the clothing.

“It is to remind us of something very sacred,” Beck explained. “It’s a reminder of the promises we make at the Temple.”

Rather than serving as a secretive and elusive tool, the underwear represent the personal promises that Mormons make to be “faithful, modest, and temperate.”

While it’s not always easy to wear the undergarments, especially when it comes to finding clothing to wear over them, Beck said that the difficulty makes it more sacred and meaningful. Considering the importance of the underwear to the Mormon faith, it also become more painful, the host admitted, when others mock the practice:

Beck also tackled the purported “secretive” activities that unfold in the temple. While many critics have alleged that the church is elusive and that some of the activities are top-secret, Beck made it clear that there’s nothing surprising or startling going on behind closed doors.

“There’s no secret stuff,” Beck explained. “There‘s nothing you will find in the temple that you won’t find in the Old or New Testament.”

Marriage and baptism are two of the practices that take place inside Mormon houses of worship — elements that most other Christian denominations can relate to. Beck did delve into “baptism for the dead,” a practice that he said has roots in 1 Corinthians.

There is also, of course, the question of Mormon missionaries. Beck described the fascinating, two-year trips that young believers make to help spread the faith, while simultaneously embarking on a journey to find themselves.

During this time, young Mormons find themselves “preaching the word and reading the scriptures,” as they go door-to-door to discuss their faith. While sharing an example of a friend’s son who just left for Finland for a mission, Beck encouraged others — regardless of their faiths — to engage in similar experiences.

“He will live the exact opposite of a trophy society. In a culture where ‘I’ve got to go find myself, while spending $50,000 a year and listen to a bunch of liberal Marxist professors at some liberal college…these guys do find themselves,” Beck proclaimed. “Please, do this in your faith. It changes your children…it’s one of the reasons that Mormons are so successful. They know why they are at an early age.”

“It’s not weird to be a Mormon. And it‘s not weird to be president if you’re Mormon,” Beck concluded.

This special episode comes as the nation prepares to potentially elect its first Mormon president. While some biases certainly continue to color Romney’s candidacy, the impact appears to be minimal. As we’ve previously reported, November 2011 Pew Research Center results found that, while Romney may have experienced some negative results due to his Mormon faith in the primary race, his general election chances likely won’t be impacted.

Unfortunately, this hasn’t stopped anti-Mormon attacks from unfolding in media. Beck’s goal, of course, was to dispel some of the myths that drive and fuel these incidents.

Is Mitt planning on having more than 1 wife?

If he (Mitt), were a Buddhist vs. the current president, would you vote for him?

Is it more relevant that a president,( or presidential candidate), has a Mormon religious background, or that he has Marxist political leanings, (and 3 year history of disastrous policies for our nation)?

Mitt could be a dread-locked Rastafarian and still be a better choice for our nation. Imagine what the next 4 years will be like with Obama and Co. in charge.

BTW I went to Glenn Beck's Restoring Love (AWESOME!) event in Texas.

The night before, he had a gathering of religious leaders and people, from every faith ,(thousands of people), and we were praying together, for the restoration of our religious liberty.

Our freedom to practice religion is under attack. Think about that. The democrats just openly booed God at their convention. Will things get better, or worse, for us ,(regardless of what religion we practice), if Obama gets another 4 years?

. . it’s the ones you don’t remember.

"I Don't Know..."

In case you don't recognize the title of this post, it is part of President Hinckley's answer to a reporter's question that appeared in the August 4 1997 issue of Time magazine. The reporter referenced the King Follett discourse. The answer supplied and the manner in which it was delivered caused the reporter to draw some false conclusions about a very important doctrine.

In that discourse, the prophet Joseph Smith said, "If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man." (See also D&C 130:22)

The article referred to Lorenzo Snow's couplet, "As man is now, God once was; as God now is, man may become." The reporter said, "God the Father was once a man as we are. This is something that Christian writers are always addressing." President Hinckley was then asked, "Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are?"

The bothersome reply

"I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it. I haven't heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don't know. I don't know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it."

The reporter wrote, "On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain." That's an unfortunate conclusion. Of course I wasn't at the interview and neither were you but I'll bet the reporter mistook careful thoughtfulness for uncertainty. This doctrine is indeed deep territory and not something that is taught outside the LDS Church.

An earlier and similar interview

The San Francisco Chronicle, published an interview with President Hinckley in April of 1997. The reporter asked, "There are some significant differences in your beliefs. For instance, don't Mormon's believe that God was once a man?" President Hinckley responded, "I wouldn't say that. There is a little couplet coined, 'As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.'"

He then said, "Now that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about." The reporter pounced on this. "So you're saying that the church is still struggling to understand this? " President Hinckley responded, "Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly."

President Hinckley's response

President Hinckley said in October 1997 General Conference: "I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that's to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine.

"I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church." And there lies the whole point of my post today. Some members did indeed become a little concerned by the exchanges they read in the press reports of those interviews.

Does the Church still teach this?

I know this is old news but it still bothers some people when they discover the anti-Mormon attacks floating around on the Internet. President Hinckley was right. We really don't know much about how our Heavenly Father became a God. The idea that he passed through a mortal probationary state like you and me is certainly not documented in any scripture of which I know.

However, it is still taught. In the Gospel Principles manual in the chapter on exaltation we read, "Joseph Smith taught: "It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God. . . . He was once a man like us; . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-46)."

Summary and conclusion

I don't know why this should bother anyone. The doctrine is true. Joseph Smith knew a whole lot more about this than I do. President Hinckley also knew a whole lot more about this doctrine than he was willing to share with reporters who did not have the background to understand it. It must have been difficult for President Hinckley to hold back and not teach it in those interviews.

It didn't bother me when I read the interviews back in 1997 and it doesn't bother me today. However, I know it does bother some people. We each have trials of our faith. I have never depended on an intellectual understanding of the gospel in order to accept it and live it. There are some things that just can't be fully comprehended without the temple, prayer and faith.

There are some things that just can't be fully comprehended without the temple, prayer and faith.

Our freedom to practice religion is under attack. Think about that. The democrats just openly booed God at their convention.
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Your whole post is a contradiction...

Just what were you trying to say...

I chose this particular part because since this threead is about mormonism and you reference Willard and his beliefs, there naturally are some glaring questions to be asked...

For instance since you stated “The democrats just openly booed God at their convention” and seem to require that we are “Think about that” I’ll offer the following comment..

If it offendes you to have the democrats do such a thing, why on Earth would you chose to hang out with people who do that ???

Mormons have doctrines and temple rituals on booing the GTod of the Bible and yet that does not seem to offend you...

Joey Smith stsrted his mormonism religion to boo God after he had been excommunicated from the Methodist Church for immoral unChristian acts and from the Presbyterian Church for enticing members to join his religion and spreading blasphemy amongst the congregation...

From the beginning he made doctrines that went against the Ten commandments and managed to trespass in all Ten...

He wanted to copy Mohammad and his resulting religion is closer to Islam than Christianity which he and his followers denounced...

blaspheming God, adultery, murder, stealing, coveting you name them they became a “virtue” in Smith’s new religion...

In the end Smith announced he was greater than the LORD Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible and one month later Jesus destroyed Joey Smith...

for more than 15 years God put up with the lies and evil and sins of Joey Smith...the raping of underaged girls, his occult practices, his murder and stealing..

at any time Joey Smith could have repented and been saved by the Blood that the LORD Jesus Christ shed on the Cross for Joey...

Joey died still in need of salvation..with a pagan Jupiter talisman arounds his neck or in his pocket for luck...he was never without it...

But God will not be mocked...

Joey Smith died an ignoble death shooting his way out of jail...he murdered at least 2 men in the process and his own brother got a bullet in the back that could have only come from Joeys gun...unless Taylor had one..

and calling out to the Free Masons in the crowd of mormons who were gathered outsuide to save him...

“Is there no help for the widow’s son ?”

Smith was a Mason having gone to the top the first day he joined along with his followers...

From the first their secret temple clothes and rituals included Masonic designs and handshakes and signs..

and today the mormon temples are decorsted with masonic symbols..

And God is still booed by the mormons ...

and they attack freedom of religion everytime they knock on the door of a Christian to say we are going to Hell if we dont become Mormons...

and everty time they deny the Trinity...

and every time they say that the LORD Jesus Christ is not God...

and that the Virgin Mary had sex with their mormon god to get pregnant..

and every time they say their book of mormon is the truth but the Chrsitian Bible is not...

All this is part of your deep concern isnt it ???

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